Harvest

Home Sweet Home, as summer ends and autumn is just days away.

Sept 16, 2018

It was just one week ago that I tried one of the apples from my tree and surmised that it was very nearly ripe. I'd supposed, wrongly, that I had a few weeks left until it was time to pull the young apples off the tree. Then, five days later, I walked out in the yard and discovered dozens of apples lying on the ground all around the trunk, some already turning brown and others covered with industrious, tiny ants. The time to harvest was now.

Some apples just couldn't wait to be picked, so they jumped ship.

So Sarah and Chris came over a little bit early yesterday, before our weekly family dinner, and helped me pick as many of the apples as we could reach. Actually, they did most of the work. I got the lower branches, but then I got busy with my camera and left the rest to them. Our neighbor, Gary, was watering his front lawn while we worked, and he kindly loaned us an apple-picker for the higher branches. I didn't even know such a tool existed!

Chris goes after the apples in the upper branches.

Chris got out my ladder and worked on getting the apples in the upper branches, which was quite a job. Sarah took the apples from him and loaded them into the ice chest, as well as picking up any off the ground that seemed unbruised and unafflicted by insects. The next chore will be to wash the apples and place them in the refrigerator drawer, where they should keep for four to six weeks. Or three to four weeks for those that are russeted. However, since we're heading out of town again in a few days, I hope I can get them washed, air-dried, and into the fridge before we get on the road. There's so much to do!

Bounty enough to fill the bottom of the ice chest with tiny apples.

The next question is this: What am I going to do with them?

During the week following Labor Day, there was a little chill in the air, especially in the mornings and evenings. Everyone started waxing poetic about fall and daydreaming longingly of Halloween and Thanksgiving and sweaters and a blaze in the fireplace. But this week we had another little heatwave, with highs in the upper-80s and lows only in the mid-50s. Maybe we'll get that chill back next week and autumn will begin in earnest. Our annual Fall Festival is less than two weeks away!

Gary's tree next-door is already starting to get its fall foliage.

Meanwhile, my trees are holding onto their green leaves (although one of our neighbor's trees now has some patches of gold). It's always hard for me to imagine that, within a couple of months, the branches will be bare, and the lovely, cool greenery will be only a memory.

A canopy of green, viewed from beneath two large oaks at the side of my house.

Sept 10, 2018

Living in an evergreen ecosystem as we do, you wouldn't think the changing of the leaves would be such a huge deal, but we do have enough oaks and aspens and other deciduous trees to allow some yellow, gold, and brown to adorn our trees before the winter winds carry them away. While we don't get the vibrant oranges and reds seen in New England, there's still enough change to inspire visitors to drive to our community every fall so they can enjoy the crispy weather and the colorful leaves.

Then we get out the rakes. And not just for the fallen leaves! Sadly, evergreens may be ever green, but they do lose their needles. In massive quantities. In fact, we had some strong winds this week that left my yard covered in a carpet of pine needles, and it will only get deeper over the coming month.

These two pines in the driveway have a lot of dead branches.

The cleanup will include more than just leaves and pine needles. During some of our worst monsoon storms this summer, heavy winds tore a lot of the dead branches from the pines in my yard, especially two that stand in the middle of my driveway. Last November, when the men from church came to put on my new metal roof, a few took time to trim away most of the lower dead branches. Someday, though, I'll need to hire a professional to remove the dead branches that hang dangerously high above the ground.

Some of those dead branches were removed by Mother Nature.

Meanwhile, after a powerful microburst exploded above downtown Lakeside in July and ripped several giant pine trees out of the ground and tossed them across the roads like kindling, I'll just be grateful that all we have to deal with are some broken branches!

July 27, 2018: Tall pines block Niels Hansen Lane.

(I was on my way to the post office, one block away.)

Another giant pine blocks Church Lane after the microburst.

This enormous root system was ripped right out of the ground.

First Apple

Sept 10, 2018: Most of the apples have their red coats now.

Again, I'm a novice farmer here. I have no idea how to tell if an apple is ripe. I trust that my local grocer wouldn't sell them if they weren't ripe, but an apple from my own tree... Usually I forget about them until it's so late in the season that I'm finding them on the ground. By then, they're a bit too ripe.

They aren't the type of apples that become solid red, but they spread the

red over the green beneath. A few haven't even started blushing yet.

So I decided to be proactive this year and try one of my apples as soon as they appear to be ready. They're small apples, so size is not an indicator. They won't turn solid red, so that doesn't help. I don't even know what type of apples they are. Comparing them to online charts, they most resemble the pictures and descriptors of Fuji apples, but I can't be sure. Who knows if Fuji apples can even thrive in our mountain climate? (Did they actually come from Mount Fuji?)

I'm going to guess they'll be fully ripe by late Sept or early Oct.

At any rate, on Monday I chose one of the larger little apples within my reach and gave it the tiniest of tugs. It came right off, which seemed promising. I took it inside to wash and examine. It was a perfect specimen, without blemish. So small, it fit neatly into the palm of my hand.

This was one of the larger apples, just big enough to fit in my palm.

Then I sliced the apple into four quarters and took a bite. It was crisp and mildly sweet, not grainy at all. It was less sweet than I'd expected, based on apples I'd sampled in previous years, so it may be that they need until the end of this month, or even early October, to reach peak sweetness. They'll need to be picked by then anyway, because the autumn frost will soon follow. But I'd say that most of the apples are ripe enough for picking now, if one prefers a less sweet apple.

Barely ripe enough to eat, mildly sweet, but tasty.

Meanwhile, I gobbled down that apple in a few bites, and it was yummy. Maybe I'll follow that old "apple a day" rule for a couple of weeks. Then it'll be time to get out the ladder and officially harvest my apples, bottom to top, for the first time. I'm thinking some apple crisps might be fun to make...

The Cradle Board

Sarah and Chris with their new cradleboard and baby doll, Isabel.

September 10, 2018

Over the years, Mark's grandmother, Helen, was very clear about which personal possessions she wanted to be passed down to her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren upon her passing. She had two specific items that she told us many, many times were to be handed on to her very first great-grandchild, Sarah.

First was the organ, where Helen and Sarah so often sat together when Sarah was a toddler, "playing" (pounding random keys) and "singing" along (usually more like howling). Sadly, that organ--which I did see in the garage when I first walked through the Mesa house in April, after inheriting the house in March--had disappeared by the time we'd evicted the former residents and moved Jacob in on May 31st. Supposedly, the woman who'd been "squatting" in the house for nearly six years, Renee, had told Mark's Aunt Wilma that she was moving the  organ to storage for "safekeeping." Removing something from the house, which she knew didn't belong to her, was a clear act of criminal theft. By July, a notice had arrived at the house, stating that Renee's storage unit was going to be auctioned off due to nonpayment. I'm sure the organ has been either trashed or sold to a total stranger by now.

Second, Helen had a huge collection of original Cabbage Patch dolls. Literally, dozens of dolls signed on their cushy butts by Javier Roberts, with their tiny little "birth certificates." Most of them were to go to Mark's cousin, Maryhelen, but Helen had selected one special doll that she made sure we all knew was to become Sarah's someday.

I can't say for certain where all those dolls went, but neither Maryhelen nor Sarah ever took possession of a single one. The prevailing opinion is that Mark's former girlfriend, Diane, sold them off to support her prescription-drug addiction after Mark went to prison in Sept 2011, five months after Helen's death (for a burglary Diane admitted to me that Mark did not commit, but had confessed to doing in order to protect her). While he was locked up, Diane also sold everything Mark owned, including his truck, as well as trying to get Helen's house put in her name. Thankfully, Mark was wise enough to refuse her request that he give her power of attorney. Diane was so angry that she refused to communicate with Mark for the three and a half years he served for her crime. Yet, as soon as he was released and moved here to be near his children, she tracked him down and demanded that he get her moved back into Helen's house. (By this time, I'd begun working with the family lawyer to sort it all out.) Mark stood strong against her demands, and Diane finally went away.

We figured that all Sarah would ever receive from Helen's estate were the thousands of happy memories they'd made together and their mutual love of violin (Helen bought the $1,500 violin that Sarah uses in performances to this day). Then, about six weeks ago, one of Jacob's new Mesa neighbors saw him in his front yard as she was driving past, and she pulled over to talk to him. She told him that, a few years before Helen's death, Helen had given her a Kachina doll for safekeeping, which she'd wanted to be passed on to Sarah one day. This neighbor went on to tell Jacob how happy she was to see Jacob was taking care of Helen's home, restoring it to the nice place it always had been during Helen's lifetime. She felt that now was the right time to hand the doll on to Jacob's sister. She invited Jacob to stop by her house some evening for a visit and to pick up the doll.

This is my newest Kachina, a Navajo "Sun Dancer."

I was mystified. I have three Kachinas of my own (Buffalo Dancer, Eagle Dancer, and Sun Dancer), so I'm very familiar with these traditional Hopi/Navajo dolls. However, I couldn't recall Helen ever owning a Kachina. True, I rarely entered Helen's home during the last four years of her life, due to Mark and me being divorced in 2006, but the neighbor had described this Kachina as being on the wall in the corner of Helen's living room for "many, many years." I told Jacob to send me a photo of the doll as soon as he picked it up.

This photo by Jacob revealed that the doll wasn't a Kachina at all.

No, it wasn't a Kachina, but as soon as I received the photo, I remembered the cradleboard. Not so much the doll, but I was with Helen when she purchased the authentic Apache cradleboard from a local antique dealer, way back in the 1990s. 

When my family moved to Arizona in 1980, it took me a while to appreciate the stark, unique beauty of the Southwest, especially the desert. Eventually, though, I decided that I would someday decorate my own home with Southwestern decor. Anything from cowboy art to Native American artifacts. After we moved here to the White Mountains, I purchased my first Kachina and started looking for a cradleboard to display. I mentioned this to Helen during one of her visits to our family. She was so taken with the idea that she led us from one shop to another on a cradleboard search. Finally, she found and purchased the Apache cradleboard above, the same one she'd left with her neighbor for safekeeping more than a decade later. 

My own search took years longer, but I finally found the one that now hangs in my bedroom, as seen in the picture below.

My swaddled doll is in a cradleboard minus the board.

While I wouldn't have recognized Helen's Native doll without the cradleboard, I do recall that Helen searched for and found a baby-doll to put in the Apache infant carrier, one that looked like it could be a Native American child. Seeing it now, I wonder if it's another Cabbage Patch baby. I guess we need to check its butt for a signature... However, this wasn't one of the dolls Sarah played with as a child. For that, Helen had given her a pair of "twin" baby dolls, one white and one black. The black baby was hands-down Sarah's favorite, as evidenced by home videos. She was always carrying and cuddling that little baby-doll.

During Jacob's most recent visit, he brought the cradleboard to Sarah. The carrier and the doll were both a little grimy and a lot dusty, so we cleaned them off (accidentally removing the doll's eyelashes in the process). Then I found a thick, soft, neutral-colored baby blanket to swaddle the doll in before lacing her into the board as best I could. There's an art to tying a baby securely into a cradleboard, which art I do not possess. I also left one of the doll's hands free, something no self-respecting Native woman would ever allow, but I thought it was cute like that.

Great-grandma's wish has been fulfilled, at last!

While I occasionally still see an Apache infant swaddled into a cradleboard by a Native mother or grandmother in our community, it's increasingly rare. Most young moms of all cultures now opt to protect their babies with modern infant carriers and car seats. Nonetheless, I think that cradleboards represent the universal desire of mothers everywhere to protect our beloved children. It's a beautiful piece of history.

And I'm so happy that Sarah is able to reconnect, finally, with a piece of family history that she shared with her great-grandma, Helen. I don't doubt that Helen, waiting in the next life to embrace her grandchildren again one day, is glad her little cradleboard baby has found her way home to Sarah at last.

At the Edge of the World

Sept 3, 2018: Sarah, Antonio, and Jacob sit at the brink of the Mogollon Rim.

As I said in my last post, my birthday celebration lasted the entire Labor Day weekend, with three full days to enjoy family, good food, and great times. It didn't end until Monday night, when Jacob and his friend Antonio, plus Karla and her family, sped away back to Mesa after dark.

Sarah finds a seat a little further down the cliff face.

While Karla was having fun showing her husband, Steve, the wonders of the White Mountains, Jacob was doing the same for Antonio, who had also never been in this part of the world before. They drove up on the highway through Globe-Miami so Antonio could see the stark beauty of Salt River Canyon, and Salt River at the bottom. Jacob told me he also wanted to show him Woods Canyon Lake, which is located off of a different highway in a different direction, on the way back to Mesa via the town of Payson.

Mark, Antonio, and Jacob enjoy the view while we wait for Karla's family.

Woods Canyon Lake is only about an hour and fifteen minutes away from my house, so I suggested that Sarah and I (everyone else had to work) take my car and drive with them to the lake on Monday. We could show Antonio the breathtaking view from the edge of the Mogollon Rim and have a picnic lunch at the lake before they continued on their way to Mesa, with only two hours remaining of their homeward trip. Then we would turn around and go back home after saying our goodbyes. The guys thought that sounded like a good plan.

Sarah near the edge of the Mogollon Rim.

We told Karla about our plan when they came for dinner on Sunday. On Monday morning, she texted me, asking when we planned to leave for Woods Canyon Lake. Maybe we could all meet up there? However, our plans were mismatched, with Jacob planning to leave around 10:00, and Steve and Karla planning to wait until 5:00 or later, when the heavy traffic leaving our resort area was finally thinning out. And, believe me, the traffic heading out of town all day Monday was horrendous, with up to two miles of stop-and-go congestion at times.

I think these formations are among the most beautiful in the world.

Jacob decided to adjust his plans so we could all go to Woods Canyon together for a final family gathering. That gave him and Antonio time to walk around nearby Woodland Lake and see a little more of our area. It also meant Mark could go with us, because he had gotten off work by the time we left. Sadly, both Dylan and Chris were working until 9:00 p.m. on Monday, so they still couldn't join us.

You can't see from this height how extremely steep the highway is below.

Meanwhile, Steve and Karla went to visit our dad and Kathy around 1:00, while Gabby and Addison went four-wheeling with their hosts in Snowflake. Karla planned to drive back to Snowflake to pick up the girls (a thirty-minute drive) and head to Woods Canyon Lake from there, hopefully by around 4:30. They had even packed their car, all ready to go, but you know how it is when you say those long goodbyes to people you care about.

Antonio captured this shot of storm clouds in the distance.

As it turned out, Steve and Karla didn't leave Dad's house until after 4:00, and by the time they left Snowflake it was about 5:15. Meanwhile, we'd left my house at 4:30 and reached the Rim overlook around 5:40. We didn't mind waiting there for them, because it's a beautiful and peaceful place, one of those environments where you could sit quietly for hours and just soak in the calming spirit. Mostly, though, I worried about the approaching dusk and how much time we'd have to enjoy the view and eat our picnic dinner before full darkness fell.

Steve nervously watches as Gabby and Addison approach the edge.

Notice the clouds floating in the distance, in the air below us.

It was 6:25 when Karla's group finally pulled into the parking area at Military Sinkhole Vista point. We spent only about fifteen minutes together at the Rim's edge, which was breathtaking but caused both Steve and Karla a great deal of anxiety, watching Gabby and Addison venture to the very brink of drops as much as six hundred feet down. I admit I was mildly nervous about Jacob and Sarah, as well, but I know them to be fairly cautious adults now, so it wasn't quite as bad for me. (Although it was a very different story when we used to come here when my children were small. I never let go of their hands in those days!)

Gabby sits while Addison takes pictures, but soon they were both on the edge.

Not that the danger isn't real. It doesn't happen often, but occasionally a hiker gets too close, loses footing, and falls. In 2015, a man and his blind dog both fell to their deaths. Another hiker fell and died in 2013, while his fiance watched helplessly. During our short visit, I found two "In Memory Of" plaques on trees near the ledge. All it takes is a moment of careless bravado.

I love these two photos together. A natural married couple moment...

...and then the posed shot, all smiles! (No, they weren't arguing in the other pic.)

At 6:40, we got back in our cars and drove an additional couple of miles (about five minutes) to the edge of Woods Canyon Lake. Dusk was definitely upon us by now. Along the way, we got the treat of seeing a small herd of young elk grazing at the side of the road. That's not an unusual sight around Woods Canyon Lake, and all three of our cars pulled over to enjoy the moment.

I jumped out of my car to get a picture of this young bull elk.

Thankfully, my camera kept getting decent photos despite the lessening light. You might think that it was still bright out, based on these pictures, but dusk really was falling fast. We spent only forty-five minutes by the lake, but by the time we drove away, it was fully dark out.

As dusk fell, the boats were coming in and the lakeside was clearing.

Once we had parked in the lot just above the lake, at 6:50, several of our group rushed to use the nasty, smelly outhouses near the little market. While they did that, I walked along the edge of the lot, taking pictures and scouting for a suitable picnic site. The portion of the day-use area with picnic tables had already closed, so instead I found a big, flat boulder right at the water's edge that we could all fit on. Not as comfortable as a table, but much closer to the lovely water view.

We found this empty, flat boulder to picnic on at the water's edge.

There were two paths down to the boulder, both no more than ten inches wide, quite steep, and overgrown with plants that like to grab your clothes as you pass. Karla saw something big and black race across the right-hand path, so she opted to use the path on the left. I'd have gone that route, too, when I was younger, but it was rockier and required deeper steps than my knees could manage while moving downward. Climbing back out later, though, Karla's path worked well for me. Walking downhill puts much greater pressure on the knees than most people realize.

Getting settled with our supplies on our chosen "picnic boulder."

So I took the right-hand path, which was smoother but slicker with small pebbles and twigs. I made Mark go ahead of me. That way I'd have something soft to fall on if I slipped and knocked him down! We made it safely, though, and encountered no scary wildlife along the way.

This is a blurry shot, but it's a good view of our picnic boulder.

Other than the difficulty in getting these old knees to bend so I could sit on the hard rock-top (and even worse, getting up again when we were done), the boulder was a good choice. The water and the air were peaceful and still. Every sound seemed hushed and yet echo-ish at the same time. Fish were leaping out of the water not far away. Only one other family was at the lake's edge by now, calling to their dogs as they prepared to leave.

Jacob, Mark, Sarah, Mary, Karla, Gabby, Steve, and Addison atop

our picnic boulder at the edge of the lake. Photo by Antonio.

Sarah and Jacob had made a big bowl of chicken salad for the picnic lunch we'd anticipated earlier in the day. Shredded chicken meat blended with green onion, celery, tomato, olives, spices, and mayonnaise, wrapped in tortillas and served with two types of chips. Everyone proclaimed it was delicious, and I was thrilled that we had an empty bowl by the end of the meal. It was way too much for just the four of us at lunch, so I was glad we'd waited until we were all together. Besides, I already had a refrigerator crowded with leftovers from the long weekend, with just Mark and me around to eat. I didn't need more!

We shared a picnic lunch of chicken-salad wraps and potato chips.

Sarah, Karla, Gabrielle, and Steve.

It was almost 7:30 by the time we'd finished eating, cleared away our trash, and prepared to hike back up to our cars. The thick greenery on the hill between us and the parking lot was so dark that it was intimidating (I used my flash to get the final image below). We managed to hike out safely, thanks to the magic of our glowing cell phones!

Looking out over Woods Canyon Lake as the sky darkens.

Then we parted ways, with Jacob's and Karla's cars turning right at the highway to continue west toward Payson and then south to Mesa, while my car turned east (left) to return home. We got back at 8:45, just in time for Sarah to pick up Chris from work. Karla texted me at 9:51 that they'd reached home safely. Jacob and Antonio followed them the whole way home, so they'd reached Mesa safely, too.

What more could I have asked for in a long birthday weekend? Well, maybe the blessing of having our entire extended family all together, which rarely happens anymore as our family keeps expanding. Meanwhile, until that day comes, this was a wonderful, feel-good weekend, and I'm so grateful for every moment we spent together!

Our narrow path back to the parking area was up this darkening hill.

Birthday Weekend

Sept 2, 2018: Me and my sister, Karla, the day after my 64th birthday.

For roughly half of my 64 years of life, my Sept 1st birthday has fallen on Labor Day weekend. This year, it fell on Saturday, giving me a full three days to celebrate with family, food, and fun times!

Jacob drove up from Mesa on Friday, so I got to enjoy my special day with all of my children. He brought with him his newest roommate, Antonio, who used to be one of Jacob's roommates in Utah and recently decided to check out life in Arizona.

Other than requesting that Jacob make some of his delicious green-chili-and-chicken enchiladas for my birthday dinner, I had planned a weekend of quick and simple meals. Then Jacob sent me a text outlining all the dishes he'd been telling Antonio about, and asking if we could have those meals while they were here. Change of plans...

Thus, after Jacob's arrival on Friday, we went shopping to provide for feeding all eight of us for four days, including frequent snacks. Walking through Walmart, we placed our bets on what the total cost of the groceries would be. I predicted $200. Antonio predicted $150, so Jacob countered with $151 ("Are we on Price is Right?" I asked). When we checked out--ka-ching!--the bill was $197 and some change. I'm still not sure if that means I won...or lost.

So Friday night's dinner was chili-cheese meatloaf, accompanied by asparagus with chipotle aioli and a big green salad that Sarah put together for us. Everyone came over for dinner and we had a great family visit. The kids played some Skip-Bo and then we finished up with a big chocolate cake that Jacob said he was craving. It was waaaaaaaay too sweet!

This year's birthday cards.

Then came Saturday. I had to get up at 5:30, as I do every Saturday, to drive Mark to work. I spent a large part of my birthday morning washing up all the dishes from the previous night's meal. But then Sarah came over and got breakfast started. Jacob joined her in helping to finish it up. Our Saturday breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs mixed into fried potatoes (if you've never tried them fried in the pan together, I highly recommend it). We also had fresh sausage links on the side.

After breakfast, Jacob prepared and baked the homemade cheesecake for my party later that evening, which was a nice change since I usually bake my own birthday cheesecakes! Dylan came over for lunch and a visit on his lunch hour, around 11:00.

We didn't get to have everyone together throughout the day, since Dylan, Jake, and Mark were all scheduled to work, but since everyone would be off work by 4:00, we knew we had the rest of the day to look forward to.

Jacob and Antonio went out to explore the area during the afternoon, but they returned in plenty of time for Jacob to prep two-and-a-half pans of his yummy chicken enchiladas and get them into the oven. While he worked on that, Sarah and I made another run to Walmart to get supplies for the side dishes: Spanish rice and refried beans with melty cheese on top.

It was 6:30 when Jacob presented us with the completed three-course meal, and we were all happy to dig in!

My gifts and cards await me after dinner.

After dinner, Mark and I got the homemade ice cream going in the ice cream freezer, and then it was time to open presents. It's always fun to see what my kids come up with. Admittedly, I am difficult to buy for. I'm at that age where I already have pretty much everything I want, and I can afford to get those things for myself, so why wait until a birthday or Christmas? 

However, over the years, I have made suggestions. First of all, never buy me appliances, Walmart gift cards, or clothes. I'm hard-to-fit, so I prefer to choose my own clothing. And I'm not against gift cards, just choose something specific. I'm always happy to get gift cards for movie theaters and restaurants, two of my favorite pastimes. Simple, inexpensive jewelry that's chosen with me in mind always touches my heart. Knickknacks can be tricky, because that involves finding space for them and then extra time spent dusting when I clean. However, there are some items I can always find room for. They know my interests include fantasy/magic (think Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter) and the black-bear decor in my living room.

Honestly, I don't need gifts at all. A card with a personal message inside means more to me than almost anything else. I've never been a high maintenance gal, so spending money on me is a nonissue. Just remind me that I matter to you!

Sarah added a new Willow Tree figurine to my collection; Mark gave me the

eagle candle holder; the honey-bears snow globe is from my friend Debbie.

As always, my family came through. Sarah and Chris gave me a gorgeous new Willow Tree figurine for my collection. This one is called "Vigil." Mark wanted to get me something for my car, but when it turned out to be ridiculously expensive, he found the eagle candle holder instead. It's beautiful.

My boys were a little more challenged, but they got creative. Dylan and Jake presented me with a "coupon" (on a paper plate) promising me dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Chalet. They have wonderful seafood, especially lobster and crab and my personal favorite, halibut.

Jacob followed suit with the paper plate "coupon," although I think it was more of a joke than a serious offer (which I believe was suggested to Jacob by his friend Antonio). Well, the joke's on him. I'll be back in Mesa at the end of this month to (hopefully) finalize the last big expenditures on the Mesa house. On the Tuesday night of the week I'm in town, I will present Jacob with the coupon and demand that he take me somewhere festive (but probably not his house)!

"Coupons" from my boys.

We wound up the evening with a raucous, hour-long game of IMAGINiff, in which we discovered that everyone believes Chris has "road rage," Dylan is "angry," and I look like "what the cat dragged in." Around 10:30, we called it quits and enjoyed our dessert of chocolate-chip cheesecake and homemade strawberry ice cream (both sugar-free, of course).

The cheesecake began to disappear quickly.

Mark, Dylan, and Jake had to work the next morning, but it was still after 11:00 when everyone finally headed home. Mark had already put himself to bed an hour and a half earlier.

Diego found a cup with a bit of homemade ice cream left inside,

and he made up his mind he was taking it home to snack on later!

Around 10:30 on Saturday morning, I had gotten a surprise phone call. My sister Karla, her husband Steve, and Karla's two youngest kids, Gabrielle and Addison, were actually on their way up the mountain from Mesa, planning to spend the three-day weekend in Snowflake (a small town about thirty minutes north of us). Friends of theirs had invited them to stay the weekend at their getaway place in Snowflake with them.

They'd already made plans for Saturday in the Snowflake area with their friends, but they wanted to get together with us on Sunday. It's not like I didn't have plenty of food in the house, so I gladly invited them to join us for Sunday dinner. How exciting to have more family in town for my birthday weekend!

Board games are serious business for Chris, Jake, and Dylan.

Meanwhile, on Sunday morning, Jacob made us a breakfast feast of scrambled eggs and diced chilies, bacon, and homemade hash browns. We didn't do much else that afternoon. I think we were all carb-crashed and tired of being so busy, although I did get Jacob, Chris, and Antonio to clean off my front porch. Jacob and Antonio also helped me hang a shelf in my bedroom that I'd been meaning to put up for more than a month.

Dylan, Antonio, and Jacob wait for their turn in IMAGINiff.

Sarah reads the scenario card while Chris chooses which vote to cast.

Karla's husband Steve had never been to this part of Arizona before, so he was dazzled by the  beauty of the forests and the Mogollon Rim and other features of the White Mountains as they drove up from Mesa on Saturday. Snowflake is a little less impressive scenically, being located in the windswept high desert, but as they drew closer to our area on Sunday the lush greenery began to surround them again. 

They stopped to visit our mom's grave in Show Low on their way to my house, and then Karla's crew arrived by around 4:00. It was so great to have them here! We enjoyed getting caught up, and then my dad and stepmom, Myron and Kathy, joined us. They'd been further up the mountain at Big Lake for a get-together with Kathy's family before coming to spend the rest of the evening with us.

Two pans of Sarah's Mexican chicken at left, two pans of green beans supreme

in the center, and an extra pan of Jacob's green-chili-chicken enchiladas at right.

I love being able to relax and visit when family comes to town. Usually, when you're the host, you're too busy to visit as much as you'd like, but I owe my daughter Sarah a huge debt of gratitude for completely preparing dinner for sixteen people without a bit of help from anyone, allowing me to focus on being with my dad and my sister's family.

Enjoying dinner: Kathy, Myron (my dad), Steve, and Karla (my sister).

It was a big job. She had already agreed to Jacob's request for her famous Mexican cream-cheese chicken casserole, so she made two big pans of that, along with reheating a third full pan of Jacob's green-chili-and-chicken enchiladas left over from the previous night. She also made two 8x8 pans of green beans supreme (with sour cream and cheddar) and a big pan of rice pilaf. (Later, I reheated the refried beans from Saturday, too.)

Karla's two youngest (of ten children), Gabby and Addison, with Chris.

I know Sarah doesn't care much for cooking; it's more Chris's thing. But she was totally un-frazzled as she moved quietly from task to task, enjoying listening to us talking and preparing each item on the menu. She did an awesome job and we all appreciated her so much! The food was both great and plentiful!

Addison, Gabby, Kylah, Elsie, Jacob, Chris, Dylan, Jake, and Antonio

after using up their energy playing Ghosts in the Graveyard after dark.

We were also blessed with a visit from my niece Elsie and her girlfriend, Kylah. That brought us up to a group of sixteen, which I love, love, love. I only wish my house were bigger to accommodate so much love!

A spookier version of the kids-in-the-dark photo.

After dinner, all the young'uns went out in the dark yard to play Ghosts in the Graveyard. From inside the kitchen, we could hear their shouting and their yelps as some ran into trees and other objects they couldn't see. It was fun to hear their good times, but we oldsters were happy not to be out in the midst of it. We recall those youthful games fondly, but we just aren't up to it anymore. Even the kids were commenting on how quickly they got tired, compared to when they were younger kids who could play for hours, often until after midnight!

Getting the fire pit lit up for s'mores.

Eventually, Dad and Kathy decided it was time to call it a night. Elsie, Kylah, Dylan, and Jake headed home since they had to work the next morning. Then Sarah insisted we needed to light up the fire pit and make s'mores, so the rest of us moved outdoors while Jacob and Antonio got the fire going. A few people opted to make homemade Blizzards instead, but we all got to enjoy the crispy night air and the warmth of the fire and an extended visit. It was 10:30 before the party finally broke up.

Visiting around the fire with Addison, Karla, Steve, Gabby, Chris, and Jacob.

We had such a wonderful day, filled with time spent enjoying the company of those we love, but the good times didn't end there! We were able to extend the family togetherness right up until dark on Labor Day. But the end of this tale will have to wait until another time...

And now, the "Before you leave..." pics: Addison, Karla, Steve, and Gabby.

Cousins Addison and Gabrielle with cousins Sarah and Jacob.

Jacob and Sarah with Aunt Karla and Uncle Steve.